Military Family With Infant Daughter On Kidney Dialysis Receives Car Donation

RANCHO CUCAMONGA (CBSLA.com) — A U.S. Navy sailor and his family Tuesday received a newly-refurbished vehicle to help with frequent hospital trips for his infant daughter.

Brandon Walker’s family was given a practically brand-new 2012 Toyota Corrola from Caliber Collision and Esurance at 11 a.m. in Rancho Cucamonga.

The gift is part of the nationwide Recycled Rides Program, in which collision repairers, insurers and others in the industry team up to provide vehicles to families in needs.

Walker, an aviation electrician, was stationed in Japan seven months ago when his wife Kyla gave birth to their second daughter. The baby suffers from kidney and brain damage after a difficult birth and now requires kidney dialysis every night for 12 hours. Kyla will also soon be donating one of her kidneys to her daughter. The Walker family, who does not have a working vehicle and rely on public transportation or family and friends, was nominated by the Support The Enlisted Project (STEP).

“Lack of reliable transportation is challenging enough on a daily basis but especially difficult with the added burden of critical medical care,” said David Goldstein, Caliber Collision Senior Vice President of Operations. “We are pleased to provide this Recycled Rides vehicle as a thank you to Brandon Walker for his dedicated service to our country.”

Associates of Caliber Collision at the Rancho Cucamonga location volunteered personal time to refurbish the vehicle from Esurance, and local businesses and organizations in the community also donated gifts to the family.

“We are happy to partner with Caliber Collision on the Recycled Rides program to help ease the transportation burden for the Walkers so they can focus on getting the best medical care possible for their daughter,” said Joe Laurentino, Esurance Vice President of Material Damage.

The Walkers’ vehicle was the 11th gift Caliber Collisions has given across the western U.S. in 2014. The company says it plans on gifting up to 25 vehicles to military and first-responders this year.